Good things are good


 

1. Avocado on whole wheat sour dough toast with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of fresh lemon and sprinkle of red pepper flakes; it's one of our favs. We first had it at The Jane Hotel in NYC while staying there two Aprils ago. (It was breakfast the day he surprised me with a ring at MOMA). 
2. Our beautiful homegrown Bibb lettuce. Picked just before dinner and made into a salad. I'm so proud!
3. Toasted chick peas with cinnamon and chili pepper.
4.  My new favorite Chocolove bar: dark chocolate with almond and sea salt. Bite size squares that you can make last all week. Perfect alone or with a glass of red wine! 

Healthy, real food, snack ideas

One of Michael Pollan's food rules that I did not mention in my last post is about snacks. The rule is "limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods".  He explains that "the bulk of of the 500 calories Americans have added to their daily diet since 1980 (the start of the obesity epidemic) have come in the form of [processed] snacks foods laden with salt, fat and sugar".


While limiting my snacks to unprocessed plant foods does sound ideallic I had to open the options up a little wider in order to stick with it. The following is a list of my favorite healthy, real food snacks. Some are good for bringing to the office, others are better as quick post-workday/pre-workout energy boost and a few I only have time for on the weekends or when hosting a party.
  • Raw, shelled almonds (Oliver almost always has a pocket-full)
  • Fruit: apple slices, avocado slices, clementines, grapes, in-season tomato slices with salt and pepper, blueberries
  • Toasted kale with a touch of olive oil and kosher salt (this is my FAVORITE because it offers the same salt and texture satisfaction as original Lays potato chips)
  • Friendship brand California style cottage cheese
  • Celery stalks with tzatziki dip
  • Radish slices with hummus
  • Broccoli with yogurt/cucumber/dill dip 
  • Edamame (this is one of my Mom's favorites)
  • Home-popped popcorn (Avoid pre-packaged microwave popcorn as the bags are lined with a chemical that breaks down into the popcorn when heated. Many recipes for homemade stovetop or microwaved popcorn can be found online.)
  • Greek yogurt with walnuts and golden raisins
How about the rest of you? What are your favorite, real food snacks that other people might enjoy trying?

Baba ganoush: a healthy, tasty snack to keep on hand

Last night, while Oliver still had the grill going from the burgers, he tossed on two eggplants to roast while we ate dinner. After dinner he mixed them up into a baba ganoush. I love having a little homemade baba ganoush on hand; it's a great snack to offer when friends drop by. Just surround the bowl with torn bits of french bread, slices of radish, carrots, endives (any crunchy thing made of real food that you have available) and leave out on the counter for all to nibble and enjoy! Consider keeping it ready in the fridge for when all your holiday guests begin to arrive for the long holiday.


Cheers!